Owen continues to pay the price for his infidelity on tonight’s Grey’s Anatomy.

After confessing to cheating on Cristina just a few episodes ago, the chief is under more pressure than ever at home and on the job. And when EW caught up with Kevin McKidd on the set of Grey’s last month, the multi-hyphenate (he directs and sings too!) said he has great sympathy for his character’s tough position. “There’s a lot of stress in his life at the moment, so he’s trying not to let that affect his efficiency as chief,” he tells us.

But it’s not as easy in practice as it is in theory. And as some sneak peeks from tonight’s episode show, the stresses of every day life are what, in a way, put him face to face with the woman with whom he’d ultimately cheat on his wife. (See the sneak peeks in the video below, along with our interview with McKidd.)

“The thing about Owen is that he tries to do things perfectly, and obviously, he messes up as the chief because you have to make these odd black-and-white decisions and sometimes you make the wrong decision,” says McKidd. “So I think he’s going to do that for a while and try to make better decisions and not let the pressure get to him.”

That will likely be a hard thing to do as the show heads toward its season finale (airing May 17). The residents are already in final preparations to take their boards, which will possibly send many of them to other hospitals. (The storyline leaves much room for flexibility, as a few actors have yet to finalize contracts for next season.) This, says McKidd, will give way to more pressure on poor Dr. Hunt. “The residents are all at the point where they’re going to be doing their boards, so some [of them] may be thinking about going to different hospitals. He’s got an eye on that; he’s concerned about that,” he says. “He’s obviously going to have to make his recommendations as chief. So it’ll be interesting to see who he recommends for what, and what he recommends for which hospital. I don’t know what he’ll write on those recommendation sheets. They’ve all been very hard working.”

And the same can be said for McKidd. He directed the 22 episode of the season, which airs May 3. Grey’s Anatomy airs tonight at 9 pm ET on ABC.